Springerville Tramples Beloved Constitution!

It begs the question; What's next, book-burning?

Levingston published a book in July 2008, The Road;Memoir of Corruption and Abuse of Power which turned out to be a page-turning tell-all about the rampant corruption in Springerville, AZ. Needless to say, the Town officials didn't appreciate the lines and lines of "dirty laundry" being aired in public.

To add insult to injury, Levingston agreed to do an interview for Phoenix Channel 12 News, which aired March 20, 2009, Springerville Officials Accused of Poisoning Residents. Three Town of Springerville officials, Chief of Police Steve West, former Mayor Kay Dyson, and current Mayor Mary Nedrow all refused to speak on camera, however, announced that they would be filing a libel suit against Levingston for the contents of her book. Within nineteen days a libel suit counterclaim was effectively attached to an existing proceeding in the Apache County Superior Court, initiated by Levingston, who is a Pro Se Plaintiff. It's no coincidence either that the private citizen involved in this lawsuit is being represented by the Town of Springerville's contracted law firm.

During Oral Arguments on November 10, 2009, in the Apache County Superior Court, the Honorable Donna Grimsley made it clear that she fully intended to "Censor" Levingston's comments on her blog and her published memoirs. Defense attorney Victoria Earle went on to violate a few more Constitutional Rights by announcing to the Court, "Ms. Levingston has no business in this court, and she has no business filing anything in this court." It appears that Earle has not heard of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, giving everyone the right to defend themselves in a Court of law. Take one giant step backward for Democracy!